Foot adjusting and gauging apparatus



Octl, 1940. n H. KAPLAN FOOT ADJUSTING AND GAUGING APPARATUS Filed March e, 1940 :s sheets-sheet 'J Y 95 O A 65 1 34% "n 30 60 0 '93 l? 30 H? 26 a g3 O 3488! @la t95 l? 67 T 50 4346 44 3g 30 g 'U1lljziiiiqlIrn'rm. H l 5? 65 mi 94 a 4a 4o 3636 34 i@ f3 l 1o k I f4 |lI-1||xlll1||- 4 T ff." 2\\"\\\\\|'1||| mi lll l ll l 1 I mllf' INVENTOR /6/4/3 HAR KAPLAN B-Yym ATTORNEY 0d. l, 1940. H KAPLAN 2,216,533

` FOOT ADJUSTING AND GAUGING APPARATUS Filed March 6, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l Y 93 y W Y 842 l 2? 98 n 67 63 635e 6a 50 4g 46 44 '93 3g .93 w y 60 A f .93 n l i 92 4 I muy m 30 .9a A 1 sa '7a 3 8% 73 78 76 76, #0 4,' 74g/ 7? 70 A 4,; 2 v 43 42 I l j @nl -1 q INVENTOR HARRY KADLAN ATTORNEY Oct. 1, 1940. H KAPLAN 2,216,533

FOOT ADJUSTING AND GAUGING APPARATUS Filed March les, 1940 5 sheets-sheet ys .52? 7g 93- 92 .90' ff 7g 4 1 www f a4 INVENTQR HARRY KAPLAN BYE (v.)

ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 1, 1940 `UNITED STATES FOOT ADJUSTING AND GAUGING APPARATUS Harry Kaplan, Philadelphia, Pa. Application Maren 6, 1940, semi No. 322,474

4Claims.

My invention relates to a new and useful foot adjusting and gauging apparatus which is particularly designed for corrective adjustment of non-chronic'deiormities or dislocations in the structure of the foot, or for gauging and locating chronic and permanentdeformities so that, in the ilrstinstance, shoes may be built on lasts made according to this invention and by means of my novel apparatus for correcting the nonchronic and correctable deformities or dislocations, and whereby, in the second instance, shoes may be built also from lasts made according to the invention and with the use of my novel apparatus which will so accommodate the permanent and unchangeable deformities as to reduce or eliminate the pain during walking. The generalobject of my invention therefore is, to design a novel apparatus for the purposes indicated and a novel method of using the same in the production of orthopedic shoes having the necessary remedial of ameliorating characteristics.

As generally indicated above, foot ailments can be generally divided into incipient ills which produce painful symptons during their formation and which in most cases can be corrected, and other deformities which are of a permanent character either due to having been neglected until they reached the chronic stage or which are of their nature irremediable. In both events the use of ordinary shoes made in standard sizes and on standard lasts is most undesirable, if not dangerous. since it d oes not relieve the pain and it has no corrective function for arresting incipient deformities or correcting the saine. Nor is the practice of tryingto correct such deformities or alleviating the pain therefrom by inserting a filler in one spot or cutting a depression in another spot in the inner sole of the shoe a successful method since .all such attempted corrections are not onlycrude in their nature but are also necessarily carried on by a hit-and-miss method having no relation to the exact state of the foot.

In the accompanying drawings;

Fig. 1 represents a top plan view of an apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents on an enlarged scale@A section online 3 3 of Fig. 1, certain parts being omitted.

Fig. 4 represents on an enlarged scale a section on line 4-4 of Fig. '1, certain parts being omitted.

Fig. 4a represents on a reduced scale a fragmentary view in elevation of the toe portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 represents a fragmentary View in side elevation showing the apparatus with only partial adjustment and with a-defective foot resting thereon.

Fig. 6 represents in vertical cross section a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the device fully ad- Justed and illustrating the first step in the preparation of s, last from which shoes for this particular foot will be made.

Fig. 'l represents an end elevation of a flexible strip impregnated with dehydrated gypsum and adapted to be wrapped around the footY and moistened to produce a cast or mold.

Fig. 8 represents a fragmentary section on line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 represents in vertical cross section the mold formed from. the foot as shown in Fig. 6 with the last of the shoe cast in the mold.

Fig. 10 represents in vertical cross section the finished last removed from the mold,

Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, my novel apparatus is supported on a base l2 which is preferably an-y nular but which may be of any ydesired shape, and which is suitably mounted upon a vplatform or other permanent support. Rotatable over the base I2 and provided with the anti-friction bearings |4 is the annular member I6 which supports the framework consisting of the arms I8 which have the horizontal, deected portions which support the platforms 24 and 28 for the left and right foot, respectively. Carried by the rotary annular member i8 areI the verticalarms 28 which extend upwardly to approximately the height of an average person, and which terminate in the horizontal hand portion 29 to be grasped by a person standing on the apparatus during the adjustment of the feet.` yThis is merely for convenience and safety of the patient.

Since the apparatus for the left footis identical with that for the right foot, both in structure and in operation, lt is deemed that the description of the one will be sufficient.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 and describing the apparatus for the left foot (as viewedl in Fig. 1), it will be seen that the platform 24, which is supported on the deflected ends20 of the uprights i8, extends transversely of the annular member IB and is provided at its front or toe end with the thickened and enlarged portion 30 which is dished out or concaved as at 32. At this point I wish to bring out the fact that the platform -24 is rigidly supported in position and immovable. Threaded through the platform 24V for vertical adjustment are the bolts 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42 which carry the slats 44. 46, 48 and 50 and 52 respectively, and it will Ybe seen from Fig. 1 that there is a pair of bolts 34, one at each end of the slat 44, and a pair of lbolts 36, one'for each end of the slat 46, and so forth for each of the slats 48, 50 and 52. By turning the bolts lowered individually with respect to each other.

In order to be able to tilt each of the slats M to 52 horizontally 4I provide the opposite ends of each of the slats 4l to l2 with round openings M which pivotally engage the doweis Il so that, if the right hand bolt 42, for instance, of the slat 52 is turned more than the: opposite bolt 42 of the same slat l2 the slat 52 will tilt accordingly as will be seen from Fig. 4. In this way i each of the slats 44 to l2 inclusive can be raised or lowered equally from both ends so as to maintain a horizontal position, or any of the slats may be raised more at -one end and less at the other so that such slats may be tilted in a horizontal plane and atan angle to the median line of the foot. Near the heel portion of the apparatus is provided the enlarged slat O0 which is also concaved at 02 and which is engaged by bolts M also threaded in the platform 2l, it being noted from Figs. 3, 5 and 6 that the enlarged slat l0 is also supported by a rear, central bolt 6l and its dowel 61 so that the rear slat I0 can be tilted forwardly and backwardly in a horizontal plane independently of the slats M to l2. It will also be noted, particularly from Fig. 3,

that the slats u to l2 are also more or less con-- caved at Il. The toe portion 3l of the platform 24, the rear enlargedtslat G0 and all the intermediate slats to 52 are each provided with one or more bolts which arethreaded through the bodies of the slats and the toe and heel portions and ll and each of which may be raised and lowered independently for more minute adjustment. Since the construction and operation of al1 of the adjustment bolts is the same, I will, for convenience in description, refer to Fig. 4 which is a section through the slat 52, it being understood that the description of this slat is to apply to the other lslats 44 to 82 as well as the toe and heel portions 30 and Il regardless of the variation of the number of bolts in each of these parts. Referring to Fig. 4 it will be seen that the slat l2 is provided with three adjustment bolts 10, v12 and 14 which are threaded at It in the body of the slat l2 and which are provided with the heads 1I which have the ball and socket connection Il with the bolts. Assuming that there is a fallen bone in the foot corresponding with the position Vof the bolt 12, it follows that it is desirable to raise the head of the bolt 12 to readjust the bone and put it back into position, and therefore the bolt 'I2 is turned in the proper direction to raise the head 'Il thereof above the level of the heads 1l of the adjacent bolts 10 and 14. Also, due to the ball and socket or swivel connection Il between the heads 1l and the bolts, the heads 'Il of the respective' bolts 1li, 12 and I4 are capable of assuming the proper angle and tilting about their respective pivots so as to make the proper fit. Mounted on the rear or heel portion 8l is the heel adjusting member I2 which has the hori'- zontal extension Il .which is provided with the slat 8l so as to be slidable with respect to the wing nut I8. In this way the heel adjusting member can be moved to the right or the left, as viewed in Figs. 3, 5 and 6, according to the size of the footy o'r its location with respect to the apparatus. The heel adjusting member O2 is shown in its extreme right hand position in Fig. 5 and in its extreme left hand position in Fig-6. Il designates a pad or a cushion of rubber or other flexible material which is superimposed onthe top of the heel portion Il, the toe portion `Il and the intermediate slats u to l2 and is detachably held in position by a series of clamps 32. ',I'he clamps l2 may be of any desired construction but one preferred form is shown in Fig. 9 in whichit will be seen that the clamp comprises a horizontal portion for engaging the mat or cushion Il and a vertical slotted portion M which is engaged by a wing nut or the like Il. v

The operation is as follows:

The foot of the patient is placed on the slats M to Il or on the front portion 3l and the next adjacent slats, or on the heel portion and the next adjacent slats, according to 'the judgment of the operator, and the heel piece l2 is ad,- justed all as shown in Fig, 5. Assuming the foot of the patient to be lflat or to have other correctable or incorrectable iniirmities, the operator then proceeds to raise or lower with respect to each other any one or more of the slats u to Il, and to tilt the same to the right or to the left horizontally, or to tilt the heel portion Ol forwardly and rearwardly or to the right and to the left horizontally according to the requirements of the particular foot. After that general adjustment has been achieved, the operator proceeds to secure more accurate and detailed adjustment or correction by manipulating the bolts 1l, 12 and 14. or any of them, in the slat l2, or any one of the other slats u to l2, or one or more or all of the corresponding bolts in the toe portion ll or the heel portion Il. In that way, if the foot has a fallen bone or some other correctable projection. the same can be lifted back to proper position by manipulation of the bolt or bolts in the particular slate or slats corresponding to that particular portion of the foot, and, if the foot has some defect that is incorrectable, the bolts passing through the various slats or the toe or heel portions are nevertheless adjusted to con'form to that particular deformity so as to produce an outline which corresponds to the foot as corrected or to the foot with its incorrectable deformities all as diagrammatically illustratedin Figs. 6 and 8. After this has been done the feet are removed and are encased in a plastic and the feetare again placed on the properly adjusted position of the device so that the plastic, when allowed to harden about the and when the same have been wetted and thefoot is placed again on the adjusting device, the wetted plastic will conform to the contour of the foot and the adjusting device and will, when it harden into a solid mold. After this is done' the mold is cut open vertically as at A in Fig. 8 so as to permit withdrawal of the foot from the mold. 'The mold is then again closed and the slit A is sealed with adhesive strips or other material and is ready for casting a last from which the appropriate shoe is to be made. I then bore a series of holes in the bottom of the mold M and insert therethrough pieces of wood or other nail-engaging material I4 so that the upper ends of the pieces Il project somewhat upwardly into the mold. I then pour the 7l plastic from which the last L is made into the mold and before the plastic has set I insert the screws 96 and 96 which also pass through a plate W which is deflected as shown in Fig. 9. When the composition of which the last L is made has set, I remove the screws 06 and 68 and -the plate |00 and split the last vertically as at |02 so as to make it into two pieces |04 and |06. Also I trim the lower ends of the piecesof wood 94 so that their bottom ends are now flush with the bottom contour or the sole |06 of the last. I then reapply the plate |00 and the screws 96 and 90 so as to hold the two pieces of the last |04 and |06 together. 'I'he pieces of wood or the like 94 are adapted to receive nails and tacks that may be needed in the lasting of the shoe on the last L, and the splitting of the last L into two pieces |04 and 06 enables me to withdraw the last from the shoe by merely disengaging the screws 96 and 98 and pulling out of the shoe, rst the rear pieces |04, and then the front piece |06. Some or all of the adjustment screws 34 to 42 as well as the adjustment screws 64 and 65 are provided with a scale ||0 onone or more faces thereof and the same is true `of the adjustment bolts 10, 12 and 14 of the slat 52 as well as all the other corresponding bolts of the remaining slats or of the toe portion 30 or the heel piece 60. In the drawings I have shown the scale H0 as applied to only certain of the bolts but this is only for convenience since the application of the scale to all of the bolts would interfere with the 'showing of their threads. The provision of the scale enables the operator to translate the adjustments that may be made in each individual case in terms of inches and fractions thereof in order to record the same for future reference, either for when another similar shoe is needed, or in order to watch progress of -adjustment and correction of the initial deformities of the foot.

It will thus be seen that by my novel apparatus I am enabled to adjust accurately, either for correction or for measurement of defects, in all horizontal and vertical planes conceivable, since the tilting of the slats horizontally to the right or to the left with respect to the foot as well as thc tilting of the slats forwardly or rearwardly about their pivoted dowels, together with the forward and backward as well as lateral tilting of the heel piece 60 and the vertical adjustment of the bolts passing through the slats or through the toe piece 30 or heel piece 60, together with the swivel connections of the heads 16 of said bolts with respect to the bolts themselves, renders my device capable of gauging or'adjusting every point along the sole of the foot and not merely along general areas thereof. VMv novel apparatus has been embodied in a full size working construction and has been used repeatedly with great success in the building of shoes that tend effectively to correct nonchronic defects and in other cases shoes have been built which have eliminated the pain which a person with chronically defective feet experiences in walking in ordinary "shoes, The slatsv 44 to l! are also tiltable horizontally at an angle to their longitudinal axis about the pivoted dowels 66. In order to protect the toes of the foot from unnecessary contact with the material of the mold M, I encase the toes of the foot in the toe boxTasbestseeninFig.6. ThetoeboxT,in addition to protecting the toes of the foot against unnecessary contact with the plastic of which the mold M is made, also serves to provide the proper length and shape for the toe portion of the finished last in Fig. in accordance with the re-v quirements of the foot or in accordance with the desired style of the shoe. The toe box, when slipped over the toes of the foot as shownin Fig. 6, is held in position by a piece of adhesive tape winch is attached partly to the toe box and partly to the foot. Also, in order to prevent the plastic of the mold end from sticking to the foot. the foot is coated with vaseline or some other lubricant priorqto being wrapped in the plastic strips of Fig.

It will be seen, particularly from Figs. 5 and 6, that the foot adjusting apparatus is made very much longer than is needed for the adjustment of the human foot, the object being to increase the range of possible adjustment and measurement. Thus. if it is determined that the heel of the foot needs no attention, the heel is positioned on the rear portion 60 and the rest of the foot is adjusted by the bolts supporting the slats and by bolts passing through the slats. On the contrary, if the toe or ball portion oi' the foot is normal, the patient is made to step forward on the device so that the toe andthe ball or either will rest on the immovable front or toe portion with the rear portion of the -foot resting on the slats and adj thereby.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A foot adjusting apparatus comprising a plurality of slats on which the foot to be adjusted is adapted tol rest, there being recesses formed in said slats and through openings communicating with said recesses, a plurality of bolts threaded through said openings, and a plurality of heads pivotally connected to said bolts andv normally seated in said recesses.

2. A foot adjusting apparatus comprising a toe portion, a heel portion and a plurality of slats disposed between said toe and heel portions, there being recesses formed in the upper surfaces of said toe portion, heel portion and intermediate slats, and through openings communicating with said recesses, a plurality of adjustment bolts threaded through said openings, and heads pivotally connected to the upper ends of said bolts and normally lying in said recesses with the upper surfaces of said slats flush with the upper surfaces oi' said toe portion, heel portion and intermediate slats.

3. A foot-adjusting device comprising a rotatably'mounted rigid support, a plurality of bolts threaded for vertical adjustment through said support, a toe portion at one end of said support, certain of said bolts extending through said toe portion, a pivotally mounted heel-supporting portion at the other end of said support, certain of said bolts extending through said heel portion, an adjustable h eel abutment portion coasting with said heel-supporting portion, and a plurality of slats disposed between said toe portion and heel supporting portion. said slats being pivotally supported by certain of said bolts and certain of said bolts extending through said slats.

4. A foot adjusting device comprising a support, a plurality of bolts carried by and vertically adjustable with respect to said support, dowels carried by said bolts at an angle to the vertical axes thereof. and a plurality of foot supporting elements pivotally mounted on and carried by said dowels.

HARRY KAPLAN. 

